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dfolivieri's review against another edition
I'm a huge Van Jones fan. He embodies most of the political ideals I strive for: intelligent analysis of the facts, dedicated work on the ground to improve people's lives, a real desire to find common ground across the aisle, excellent facial hair, a belief in the power of democracy to change people's lives, a deep seated love of the musician Prince, a commitment to putting the common good above your personal objectives. That said, a lot of this book felt overly optimistic. While Jones wants us to come together over the issues that those on the right and left can agree on (educating more young people in computer programming, reducing our incarcerated population, taking care of wronged coal miners), I just don't see this as likely to happen. His policy proposals at the end of the book are nice. I want more of those and more specifics. I also found it fascinating how carefully he studied Newt Gingrich and how the two of them came to respect each other.
ljkinkad's review against another edition
3.0
Most interesting aspect is his project to teach coding to minorities.
bookshelfbyla's review against another edition
5.0
I brought this book in 2017 when it was first released. I am glad that I have finally prioritized reading it now. The timing for guidance could not be more paramount. Every aspect of America seems to be in turmoil. Van is someone who I have followed and been a fan of for years. I genuinely admire his ability to empathize and continually seek to help create an America that is truly a nation that offers liberty and justice for all.
If you have found yourself either discouraged, lost, confused, overwhelmed, frustrated in the current discourse, and disconnect in America, I truly cannot recommend this book enough.
The initial framework of the book details how Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 to Donald Trump. He wrote this book 6 months into Trump's presidency and his concerns and outlook 3 years later, have all come true. He provides honest and valid critics of both liberals and conservatives. Even though, I am a liberal I genuinely believe that he was not biased to the Democratic Party. The critics he made for the liberal party has completely changed my perspective on how Hillary lost. I never truly succumb to the pity party of Hillary's lost but any frustration in how we as a nation (with failures from Republicans and Democrats) got to its 2016 and now 2020 state is NO accident.
I truly have highlighted practically every other page so it is virtually impossible for me to choose quotes that stand out to me the most. If you are like me and are wondering how on earth can America move forward, Van outlines direct and concrete actions we can take as individuals and for both parties. He also provides resources for movies, books, podcasts, and people to follow and listen to, to continue your learning and understanding.
I will add this quote which summarizes how we need Democrats to be better Democrats and Republicans to be better Republicans in order to achieve a more perfect union.
"For more than two centuries, we have been working to close the gap between the ugliness of our founding reality and the beauty of our founding dream. Each generation tries to narrow that gap a little bit more than the last one did. No, we will never have a perfect union. But we can always have a more perfect union, decade after decade, generation after generation, century after century" (187).
As Van stated in the conclusion, we need to acknowledge that we are asking a lot out of our neighbors and ourselves. We need to acknowledge that we are trying to do something hard here in America. But "no bird can fly with only a left-wing. No bird can fly with only a right-wing. Both sides still need each other".
He provides the messy truth on how we came apart but more importantly, how we can come together.
I am ready to get to work.
If you have found yourself either discouraged, lost, confused, overwhelmed, frustrated in the current discourse, and disconnect in America, I truly cannot recommend this book enough.
The initial framework of the book details how Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 to Donald Trump. He wrote this book 6 months into Trump's presidency and his concerns and outlook 3 years later, have all come true. He provides honest and valid critics of both liberals and conservatives. Even though, I am a liberal I genuinely believe that he was not biased to the Democratic Party. The critics he made for the liberal party has completely changed my perspective on how Hillary lost. I never truly succumb to the pity party of Hillary's lost but any frustration in how we as a nation (with failures from Republicans and Democrats) got to its 2016 and now 2020 state is NO accident.
I truly have highlighted practically every other page so it is virtually impossible for me to choose quotes that stand out to me the most. If you are like me and are wondering how on earth can America move forward, Van outlines direct and concrete actions we can take as individuals and for both parties. He also provides resources for movies, books, podcasts, and people to follow and listen to, to continue your learning and understanding.
I will add this quote which summarizes how we need Democrats to be better Democrats and Republicans to be better Republicans in order to achieve a more perfect union.
"For more than two centuries, we have been working to close the gap between the ugliness of our founding reality and the beauty of our founding dream. Each generation tries to narrow that gap a little bit more than the last one did. No, we will never have a perfect union. But we can always have a more perfect union, decade after decade, generation after generation, century after century" (187).
As Van stated in the conclusion, we need to acknowledge that we are asking a lot out of our neighbors and ourselves. We need to acknowledge that we are trying to do something hard here in America. But "no bird can fly with only a left-wing. No bird can fly with only a right-wing. Both sides still need each other".
He provides the messy truth on how we came apart but more importantly, how we can come together.
I am ready to get to work.
smileebookworm's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve learned so much and have come to admire Van Jones immensely.
This book is thorough, truthful, extremely informative and focuses on unifying our country (America) through understanding our differences and finding common ground.
I dog tagged about 50 pgs and took notes on some items because I want to remember such jewels of wisdom.
You will be blessed by this book friend. Def read and recommend 💕
This book is thorough, truthful, extremely informative and focuses on unifying our country (America) through understanding our differences and finding common ground.
I dog tagged about 50 pgs and took notes on some items because I want to remember such jewels of wisdom.
You will be blessed by this book friend. Def read and recommend 💕
profpeaton's review against another edition
2.0
In general the book has a good message. I appreciate the attempt to bridge the divides in our politics. There are many good resources. I think our politics are a long way from what this book calls for, however. I really think we need to move beyond the simple two-party system, and this is where the book falls short in developing a new dream for The United States. Still worth the read.
lilyofthevalley_reads's review
4.0
Solid listen with a really great narrator (Prentice Onayemi) whose voice was very theatrical and really elevated the material he was given. There were a lot of things that I gathered from this book about finding “common ground” not “middle ground”.
sahibooknerd's review
4.0
“America is a good idea brought to life and made real. We exist as an ongoing act of collective will, rooted in the conviction that shared beliefs matter more than shared bloodlines.”
Most of us who actively follow politics and related news everyday are guilty of surrounding ourselves in an echo chamber that strengthens our own existing views. Neither do we tolerate opposing views, nor do we even want to listen to them. What we don’t realize is that this is exactly what has led to the current political scenario – partisan bickering, no concrete solutions for the issues ravaging the people on both sides of the aisle, growing disrespect and contempt for anyone with a different POV.
“Each blames the other side for every problem and rarely looks within to find their own opportunities for growth.”
That is why I think this book is important. It’s not a one-stop guide to solve all problems that exist, but it is a good beginning. Van Jones gives us a glance into his childhood and upbringing as a young black kid in the South. He delves into his own personal experiences to help us understand that for identifying problems and solutions, it is not only necessary but better for people of all ideological spectrums, races and classes to find common ground. In his open letters to both liberals and conservatives, he points out the flaws in each of the party’s approaches to furthering their goals and ideologies at the expense of common people. At the end, he discusses in detail issues like criminal justice reform, opioid addiction crisis and job creation which have supporters across both left and right, it’s just that we need to be prepared to engage with everyone to work on solving the crises.
“Innovation does not come from insular agreement but from individuals with different ideas coming together to solve problems using all the tools and ideas at their disposal.”
I believe that everyone invested in the betterment of the country, especially youngsters should read this book, if not completely, at least look at the appendices which give information about lots of resources to get to know both sides of every story. We should play our part to ensure that our common goal is achieved – Liberty and Justice for All.
“If we seriously want to solve any of the mounting problems we face – or even just be better partisans – we need some spaces where we listen to one another and show up humble enough to accept the fact that we might have something to learn. We need to continually remind ourselves that honest, intelligent people can disagree with us for reasons that are honorable.”
Most of us who actively follow politics and related news everyday are guilty of surrounding ourselves in an echo chamber that strengthens our own existing views. Neither do we tolerate opposing views, nor do we even want to listen to them. What we don’t realize is that this is exactly what has led to the current political scenario – partisan bickering, no concrete solutions for the issues ravaging the people on both sides of the aisle, growing disrespect and contempt for anyone with a different POV.
“Each blames the other side for every problem and rarely looks within to find their own opportunities for growth.”
That is why I think this book is important. It’s not a one-stop guide to solve all problems that exist, but it is a good beginning. Van Jones gives us a glance into his childhood and upbringing as a young black kid in the South. He delves into his own personal experiences to help us understand that for identifying problems and solutions, it is not only necessary but better for people of all ideological spectrums, races and classes to find common ground. In his open letters to both liberals and conservatives, he points out the flaws in each of the party’s approaches to furthering their goals and ideologies at the expense of common people. At the end, he discusses in detail issues like criminal justice reform, opioid addiction crisis and job creation which have supporters across both left and right, it’s just that we need to be prepared to engage with everyone to work on solving the crises.
“Innovation does not come from insular agreement but from individuals with different ideas coming together to solve problems using all the tools and ideas at their disposal.”
I believe that everyone invested in the betterment of the country, especially youngsters should read this book, if not completely, at least look at the appendices which give information about lots of resources to get to know both sides of every story. We should play our part to ensure that our common goal is achieved – Liberty and Justice for All.
“If we seriously want to solve any of the mounting problems we face – or even just be better partisans – we need some spaces where we listen to one another and show up humble enough to accept the fact that we might have something to learn. We need to continually remind ourselves that honest, intelligent people can disagree with us for reasons that are honorable.”
heatherr's review
I could identify with Van Jones. He is a liberal who grew up in a conservative area. He can understand where people on both sides of the political divide are coming from. He tries to offer insights to both sides in this book.
He points out that many people in this situation end up moving away from rural conservative areas which makes the isolation from people with differing viewpoints get worse and worse. He talks about the problems of trying to go home and convert your friends and relatives to your point of view.
He also gives real life examples of how he has worked with bipartisan groups on issues like green energy and prison reform. He specifically talks about working with Newt Gingrich. He was a fan of how he built a huge conservative movement (but not of his politics). He had read all of his books when he found himself working with him on CNN. They have some interesting joint projects.
I thought that the chapter on Prince was amazing. Prince attempted to donate to one of his projects anonymously. He refused the money because he didn't take donations that he couldn't trace. Eventually Prince introduced himself and they started working together. He uses examples from Prince's philanthropy to show how people can be creative and make a difference in the world. As he says, Prince's thinking wasn't "red or blue. He was Purple."
It is rare to have a book that discusses all these serious issues be ultimately hopeful but this one manages. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
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